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Documents released by an "inside-the-Beltway" watchdog group this week revealed that, contrary to what she has repeatedly claimed, Hillary Clinton personally signed the official forms in 2012 that allowed her top aide and confidante, Huma Abedin, to be designated a special government worker. The Democratic presidential hopeful's denials of any involvement in the situation was most recently heard during an NBC television interview
During Mrs. Clinton's arguably fluffy interview by NBC's Andrea Mitchell on Sept. 4, the former Secretary of State was quizzed about Abedin -- the wife of disgraced Democrat Congressman Anthony Weiner --being paid at the same time by the U.S.State Department, the Clinton Foundation, and consulting firm for which former President Bill Clinton sat on the board of directors. The firm's name is Teneo, and it was founded by one Bill Clinton's closest aides.
"Well... I wasn't directly involved in that," Clinton answered. "But everything that [Abedin] did was approved, under the rules, as they existed, by the State Department."
The document with Clinton's signature was obtained by Judicial Watch as part of its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. It provides proof that Clinton's signature authorized a title change for Huma Abedin on March 23, 2012. The arrangement enabled Huma Abedin to cash-in on three lucrative jobs at the same time. "I'm sure the extra money came in handy when Huma's husband 'lost' his job as a U.S. Congressman as a result of an Internet sex scandal," said former police detective Sid Franes.
In an official letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated that a special probe by the State Department's inspector general uncovered possible leveraging of a State Department job by Huma Abedin that appears to have benefited her other employers while she worked for Mrs. Clintion. The letter mentions the two paid positions with the now infamous Clinton Foundation and a consulting firm called Teneo Strategies that is also tied to former President Bill Clinton.
The so-called consulting firm known as Teneo Strategies is run by Douglas Band who once served as a special adviser to President Bill Clinton. Part of the Teneo firm's success has been Band bragging to potential clients and other that the former president is a paid board member and has been in that position since 2011, coincidentally while Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State, according to this writer's report for the Examiner.
According to Sen. Grassley's letter to Kerry, Abedin allegedly sent or received more than 7,000 emails on her government account that involved Band and his firm which conducted business overseas with nations that benefited from having the Secretary of State's ear. One example of Abedin's potential conflicts of interest, an email exchange was discovered in which Band pressured Abedin to encourage Hillary Clinton to help one of his clients secure a White House appointment.
Judith Rodin, Band's client, was then president of the Rockefeller Foundation based in New York City, "which donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation, a fact which Mr. Band allegedly noted in his email to Ms. Abedin," the Grassley letter noted. "[The] email evidence allegedly suggests that Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills shared a desire to find a way to ensure the Department paid for Ms. Abedin's travel to and from New York," the Grassley letter states.
Grassley is also questioning a payment of more than $30,000 that Ms. Abedin received from the State Department for leave she hadn't used. However, there are questions unanswered about the times she took off from the State Department but worked for the Clinton Foundation or Teneo Strategies. The Iowa Republican pointed out that the Senate Judiciary Committee found evidence that Abedin had indeed taken leave during her time as a government employee, and it has led to questions about whether or not Abedin, according to the aforementioned Examiner story.
Critics have accused Hillary Clinton of once again bending the rules -- in this case personnel regulations -- to allow Huma Abedin to collect her government paycheck while wielding her influence to the benefit of her other employers who did business with the State Department. Grassley cited Hillary Clinton's trip to Ireland with Huma Abedin for her last official appearance as secretary of State. While in Ireland Mrs. Clinton attended an event hosted by a major Clinton Foundation donor -- under the guise of a charitable contribution -- that was being promoted by Teneo.
"No matter how you slice it, these people were sucking up taxpayer money in some inventive ways that would put the average American in federal prison. It almost appears to be an organized crime shell-game, but as usual Democrats ask where's the smoking gun?" noted former criminal investigator Cheryl Freedman said.
“These documents show the Huma Abedin received special treatment contrary to law and that Hillary Clinton personally approved a corrupt patronage position,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These new documents are smoking gun evidence of what Hillary Clinton’s separate email server was all about – keeping secret the corruption of her and her top staff. What else is out there?”
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Jim Kouri, CPP, is founder and CEO of Kouri Associates, a homeland security, public safety and political consulting firm.
Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc. He also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty (Law and Orfder)
To subscribe to Kouri's newsletter write to COPmagazine@aol.com and write "Subscription" on the subject line.
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